Louis Rees-Zammit has underlined Wales’ “game by game mentality” as they target a second successive Rugby World Cup victory that would strengthen their quarter-final ambitions.

Wales, fresh from a thrilling bonus-point victory over Fiji, tackle Pool C minnows Portugal on Saturday.

A showdown with Australia follows eight days later in Lyon, then Georgia in Nantes as Wales chase a fourth last-eight appearance on the bounce.

“We got the win (against Fiji), which was the main thing, but there is a lot to improve,” Rees-Zammit said.

“We’ve got Portugal next and we know they have got great backs, so it’s going to be a tough game.

“We have got a game by game mentality, and that is our focus. You can’t slip up.

“We respect Portugal. We know they have got some great backs, so we are going to have to train hard this week and get the job done.”

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made 13 changes to the starting line-up, with only wing Rees-Zammit and number eight Taulupe Faletau remaining from last weekend.

Co-captain Dewi Lake leads Wales after recovering from a knee injury, while scrum-half Tomos Williams wins his 50th cap and there are first World Cup starts for the likes of centre Mason Grady, plus Exeter locks Dafydd Jenkins and lock Christ Tshiunza.

Lake suffered a knee problem during Wales’ World Cup warm-up game against England, but he now returns to pack down alongside front-row colleagues Nicky Smith and Dillon Lewis, and fly-half Gareth Anscombe is also back after injury.

Grady, meanwhile, is partnered in midfield by Johnny Williams, Leigh Halfpenny wins his 101st cap at full-back and another experienced campaigner – flanker Dan Lydiate – also features.

At the age of 34 years, eight months and 26 days, Halfpenny will become the oldest back to play a World Cup game for Wales, surpassing Shane Williams, who was a month younger against Australia in Auckland 12 years ago.

Prop Henry Thomas is the only player in Wales’ 33-strong World Cup squad who will not have started or been named on the bench across the first two games.

Wales’ bonus-point success against Fiji has set them up for a repeat performance against Portugal, who are the Pool C minnows.

They are at their first World Cup since 2007, although their pre-tournament form has been reasonable, including a 46-20 victory over the United States.

Gatland said: “We’ve made a few changes this week given the six-day turnaround.

“This is an opportunity now for this matchday 23. I have said before, but there is some great competition within the squad, which is what we want to see.

“There is a chance now for this group to go out on Saturday and to put down their own marker in the tournament.

“We’ve done a thorough debrief of last week’s game and know the areas we need to improve.

“We have a clear plan of how we want to play on Saturday, and it is about going out there and executing that as we have prepared.

“Portugal are a skilful side and will be raring to go this weekend in their first match of the tournament. We are excited to get back out there.”

Exeter forward Dafydd Jenkins will achieve another milestone moment when he makes his first Rugby World Cup start in Saturday’s clash against Portugal.

The 20-year-old lock has made rapid strides during an international career that only began last season with a Test debut against autumn opponents Georgia.

Having already captained the Chiefs in a Gallagher Premiership game, Jenkins quickly became an important part of Wales squads under head coach Warren Gatland.

And he was in the thick of it during his 22 minutes off the bench in Wales’ gripping 32-26 victory over opening Pool C opponents Fiji last weekend.

It proved a huge defensive rearguard from Gatland’s team as Fiji pushed for an unlikely win from 18 points adrift.

“It is a privilege to be with the group,” Jenkins said.

“I just want to try and leave the 20-year-old younger version of myself behind and push on forward, be a more experienced player at this level and competing hard.”

Jenkins’ father Hywel, a back-row forward for Swansea and Neath, went close to full international honours, representing Wales A and then Wales in an uncapped game against the United States.

And Jenkins’ rugby apprenticeship continued at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, a renowned academy for the sport with an impressive list of past students that also includes Louis Rees-Zammit, Ellis Genge and Jonny May.

Exeter boss Rob Baxter contacted Jenkins during his time at Hartpury, and a move to Sandy Park followed in 2021, where he quickly broke into Chiefs’ Champions Cup and Premiership teams.

At 6ft 7in and around 18 stone, he has made his presence felt, but he is also performing an important off-field role during his first World Cup.

As Wales’ youngest squad member, he is entrusted with carrying a giant carved lovespoon – a traditional Welsh symbol of love and affection – at major events during the tournament.

Prop Rhys Carre performed those duties four years ago in Japan, and former Dragons centre Tyler Morgan at the 2015 World Cup in England.

“I haven’t lost it yet which is good,” Jenkins added. “A few boys are definitely eyeing it up, so I have to keep it away from them.

“It was really special (in Bordeaux for the Fiji game). The crowd was amazing, a different experience to what I have had before.

“We saw videos before the game from Bordeaux of Welsh fans singing in the town. It was more the atmosphere that was a bit different.”

John Dalziel has no doubt about Scotland’s ability to bounce back from their opening-weekend setback against South Africa and set up a potential qualification decider with Ireland in Paris.

The Scots suffered a demoralising start to their World Cup campaign when they produced a disappointing performance in an 18-3 loss to the Springboks in Marseille.

Dalziel knew starting off against the world champions was always going to be a tough assignment so does not expect their chastening outing to affect the players’ mindset going into their remaining three Pool B games against Tonga, Romania and Ireland.

The squad have had the last few days off with their families and the forwards coach is confident they will all be able to get their “heads straight” in time for their next match against Tonga in Nice a week on Sunday.

“We’ve been in this position a couple of times where we’ve been disappointed with performances,” Dalziel told the PA news agency.

“It’s not the end of the world for us, but we need to get our heads straight for the next game against Tonga because we’ve got to get that game right.

“We spoke a lot about how difficult this group would be. We know we could have gone out on Sunday and played some of our best rugby and still lost the game so it was always going to be important how we go on from here.

“The difference was we didn’t play our best rugby on Sunday, but the positive is that we’ve got three other games to try and rebuild it and find another route out of the group.

“We will take it game by game, but we want to arrive in Paris for that last game with an opportunity knowing that if we win we can progress.”

Dalziel admitted “it didn’t feel like us” on Sunday as Scotland failed to score a try for the first time since autumn 2020 and posted their lowest points return since losing 27-3 to Ireland in the opening match of the 2019 World Cup.

“I was disappointed with the lack of accuracy at times, but even with the inaccuracy in the first half, we put ourselves in a good position with that big set before half-time to come in at 6-3 (down),” he said.

“It was a really positive changing room because of how poor we had been and the fact we were still in the game against the world champions.

“But we just never got into our stride, it didn’t feel like us. It wasn’t the end in any way, though, just a disappointing start. And we’ve got to do it the hard way, as always.”

Dalziel believes that, if Scotland are able to execute their attacking game, they will have a good chance of getting up and running against Tonga next weekend.

“Tonga will bring physicality up front, they’ll want to stop us playing, but we can find opportunities around that in terms of what we do,” he said.

“We just want to look at having a good performance. The performance is the focus, not the outcome. If we get our performance right, we’ll have a great chance of winning that game.”

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made 13 changes to the starting line-up for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup Pool C encounter against Portugal in Nice.

Gatland retains just two of the side – wing Louis Rees-Zammit and number eight Taulupe Faletau – that overcame Fiji 32-26 in a ferocious contest last weekend.

Co-captain Dewi Lake leads Wales after recovering from a knee injury, while scrum-half Tomos Williams wins his 50th cap and there are first World Cup starts for the likes of centre Mason Grady and lock Christ Tshiunza.

Lake suffered a knee problem during Wales’ World Cup warm-up game against England, but he now returns to pack down alongside front-row colleagues Nicky Smith and Dillon Lewis.

Tshiunza forges an all-Exeter lock partnership alongside Dafydd Jenkins, with fly-half Gareth Anscombe also back after injury.

Grady, meanwhile, is partnered in midfield by Johnny Williams, Leigh Halfpenny wins his 101st cap at full-back and another experienced campaigner – flanker Dan Lydiate – also features.

Kevin Sinfield insists England do not have a discipline problem as they look to draw a line under their latest red-card setback that resulted in a two-match ban for Tom Curry.

England did not contest Curry’s dismissal for a dangerous tackle in Saturday’s 14-man demolition of Argentina when the Sale openside appeared before a brief virtual hearing on Tuesday.

After the disruption caused to their World Cup preparations by the Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola incidents last month, England are keen to focus all their attention on Sunday’s Pool D showdown with Japan.

And while continuing to hone their tackle technique in training, defence coach Sinfield is satisfied there is no deep-rooted problem.

“Discipline-wise, we gave away seven penalties at the weekend,” Sinfield said.

“I don’t think we’ve got a discipline problem, I thought it was really unfortunate what happened at the weekend. It’s been different from the other challenges that have taken place.

“We continue to work on our tackle skill – and work incredibly hard. The guys have bought into it and have done so for some time, but they’re human and they make mistakes. We’ve got to understand that.

“And unfortunately we’ve had to deal with four red cards in six games. We’re getting pretty good at defending with 14 men, but we want to have our full complement on the field for as long as possible at all times.

“So we hope to improve that area, but it’s tricky to pinpoint exactly what that is.

“We’ll spend time with Tom and put him through tackle school and work incredibly hard with him again. We’ll get him right for a couple of weeks’ time.”

Observers have been left scratching their heads by the inconsistent refereeing evident during the opening round of World Cup matches.

While Curry was given his marching orders for his third-minute clash of heads with Juan Cruz Mallia, similar incidents involving players from South Africa and Chile went unpunished.

On this occasion England could be justified for nursing a sense of grievance at the way the cards have fallen against them and Sinfield admits the disparity between decisions makes a player’s job harder.

“I think it makes life really difficult for the players, first and foremost, and that’s what we’re all here for,” Sinfield said.

“We all want to see the players out on the field, we want to see the best players in the world go head to head. We’ve just got to be careful.

“We control what we can control. We’re in full support of the rules and regulations. We try and train as hard as we can, but within the laws of the game and we’ll continued to do that.”

England name their team to face Japan on Friday night and Sinfield insists there will be no room for sentimentality when making any tight calls.

“At the top of the list is to win the game to we pick the team that we think gives us the best chance of winning,” Sinfield said.

“Within that there’s always a balance, but we’re in a World Cup and we’re not here to give people game-time, we’re here to win games.

“We’re not here to give Test shirts out because someone deserves one, we’re here because we have to win games.”

Ireland are optimistic sidelined number eight Jack Conan will be fit to feature in next weekend’s Rugby World Cup showdown with defending champions South Africa in Paris.

British and Irish Lion Conan, who suffered a foot injury in his country’s opening warm-up match with Italy, missed Saturday’s 82-8 win over Romania and will once again sit out on Saturday against Tonga in Nantes.

The 31-year-old was able to take part in basic on-field training on Wednesday morning following a series of gym sessions, raising hope of him being fit for the Springboks.

Team manager Mick Kearney said: “(It was a) very good training session today and everybody came through that really well.

“Jack was out running, which was a real positive.

“While Saturday will come a little bit early for him, I think the signs are really positive in terms of being able to train fully next week, and hopefully he will be available for South Africa.”

Every other member of Andy Farrell’s 33-man squad trained fully at Ireland’s base in Tours, including centre Robbie Henshaw, who was a late withdrawal from the Romania game due to a hamstring issue, prop Dave Kilcoyne and hooker Dan Sheehan.

Asked if it was Conan’s first on-field session since arriving in France, Kearney replied: “Not since we got to Tours, but it’s his first for the last few days.

“He has been doing most of his rehab in the gym with the physios.

“Today was obviously a very big day for him in terms of getting out and running. He ran really well, it’s really positive and he was in a good place afterwards.”

Prop Andrew Porter insists every member of Andy Farrell’s 33-man squad believes Ireland can win the World Cup.

Rugby’s top-ranked nation are among the favourites for glory in France but have never won a knockout match at the tournament following a string of disappointing last-eight exits.

The Six Nations champions launched their campaign by dispatching Pool B minnows Romania 82-8 and on Saturday face Tonga in Nantes before pivotal Paris showdowns with title holders South Africa and Scotland.

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“I don’t think this squad does,” said the 27-year-old, who was part of the team eliminated 46-14 by New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

“We all have the belief that we can go and win. I don’t think anyone is too bothered with what’s happened in the past.

“Obviously there’s lads that have been in three World Cups and four World Cups, and it’s incredible to have their experience in the squad.

“But there’s not one player in the squad who doesn’t believe we can go and do this.

“I don’t think there is really any hang-ups about whatever you call it, ‘the curse’.”

Ireland face a major challenge to snap their unwanted World Cup record as they are likely to face a quarter-final clash with formidable hosts France or the All Blacks.

Farrell’s men must first secure progression from arguably the competition’s toughest group.

Ireland performance coach Gary Keegan, who works with players and management on mental preparation, believes head coach Farrell is “100 per cent convinced” of breaking new ground.

“It takes a leader who has the confidence in himself to want to break the mould and to want to reach for the stars,” said Keegan.

“Because if he’s not convinced that it can be achieved, it’s very hard to convince everybody else that it can be achieved.

“He’s 100 per cent convinced. That doesn’t mean there’s any guarantees in terms of where you end up.

“It’s about how we respond to difficulties as we face them. We’re not expecting the paths to be clear or easy. It’s not meant to be because it wouldn’t be worthwhile if it was.

“I think the group has always had that potential, there’s a lot of talent . One of the big changes is the empowerment that Andy provides to those players.

“There’s a very significant buy in to what we’re trying to achieve and a belief in how we’re trying to achieve it.”

Leinster player Porter shed around four kilograms and had a face “like a strawberry” during Saturday’s sweltering curtain-raiser in Bordeaux.

In addition to recovering from that gruelling experience, he and team-mates Bundee Aki, Mack Hansen and Joe McCarthy took time out from training to visit Clocheville Children’s Hospital in Ireland’s base city of Tours.

Porter, who aged 12 lost his mother Wendy to breast cancer and is involved with the Irish Cancer Society, found the experience “incredibly humbling”.

“It’s obviously a charity that’s close to my heart,” he said.

“It was a hospital for children with cancer, so it was incredibly humbling seeing how brave those kids were, and just kind of being able to brighten their day.

“It meant a lot to myself, and I’m sure the other players who were there as well.

“It’s obviously something I dealt with a lot when I was younger and didn’t have a lot of knowledge about it at the time.

“But, given my status, it’s incredibly important to use that status to benefit others and that’s what I’m going to try and do.”

Diminutive scrum-half Craig Casey is content to be the butt of the jokes after confirming his Ireland team-mates regularly “take the p***” regarding his height.

Casey is comfortably the smallest member of Andy Farrell’s 33-man World Cup squad at just 5ft 5in.

The 24-year-old was immediately teased after arriving in France when captain Johnny Sexton acted as though he was the team mascot during Ireland’s open training session in front of 12,000 spectators in their base city of Tours.

Munster player Casey, who emerged from the tunnel holding Sexton’s hand and then posed with him for a photograph, feels there is little point in rallying against the good-natured mockery, particularly with squad “sheriffs” imposing penalties.

“They like to take the p*** out of my height, as you can tell, but you just have to roll with it,” he said.

“I think if you don’t roll with it, you’ll probably be fined.

“There are a few sheriffs in the camp that keep everyone on their toes. I’d say if I fought against it, I would probably be in big trouble so I just get on with. It’s good craic.”

Casey, who is competing for action with Jamison Gibson-Park and Conor Murray, is still awaiting his World Cup bow after acting as water carrier during Saturday’s thumping 82-8 win over Romania in sweltering Bordeaux.

He hopes to be named in the matchday 23 for this weekend’s Pool B clash with Tonga in Nantes and believes it would be “unbelievable” to make his tournament debut.

“It’s exactly where you want to be as an Irish rugby player, at a World Cup being involved in this group,” he said.

“I think we’ve all talked about what the buzz has been for the last two or three years and it’s definitely increased since we got over here, the excitement levels within the group are brilliant.

“The first two weeks here were definitely hard work but we’re mixing it with the craic as well so it’s a very enjoyable place to be.

“It would be unbelievable to make my World Cup debut, if it happens. You have to be ready and when an opportunity does come, you’ve got to take it with both hands and try and cement your place.”

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After taking on Tonga, Ireland’s bid to reach the quarter-finals will be decided during pivotal Paris appointments with South Africa and Scotland.

Casey and the majority of his team-mates gathered to see the Springboks defeat the Scots 18-3 on Sunday afternoon.

He is braced for a physical encounter against the reigning world champions on September 23 at Stade de France, while also expecting similar this coming weekend.

“There was a good 25 of us in the team room watching it, so there was a good buzz around that, a very physical game,” he said.

“Scotland played very well first half, as well as South Africa, definitely physical.

“(They) just outmuscled them in the end, that’s what we’re expecting in a few weeks, that physical encounter.”

Speaking about Tonga, Casey added: “We know how tough the Pacific island teams are and we’re going to have to be at our best.

“We’ve got to go up another level (from Romania).”

Will Rowlands played down his defensive heroics in Wales’ thrilling Rugby World Cup victory over Fiji, claiming “I just see it as me doing my job.”

Wales made a World Cup record of 253 tackles in the game, which they won 32-26, and lock Rowlands was at the heart it.

He delivered 27 tackles and missed none as Wales held on amid intense late pressure to claim a bonus-point win in their Pool C opener.

“I always find it a bit weird when the number of tackles becomes the headline because you defend in a system,” Rowlands said.

“Guys run at you and you tackle them. It’s nice people say nice things, but I just see it as me doing my job for the team.

“Five points against the Fijians is fantastic for us.

“We spoke about it today when we reviewed it that we did lots of things we wanted to do, and in the periods we were in control we built a nice little lead on them.

“And then there were parts of the game we need to look at and focus on which allowed them back into the game and set us up for a nervy finish, but game one, five points – very happy.

“We had gone into the World Cup feeling pretty confident, we had done some good work and we are in a good place going into the games physically.

“It was a big first game for us to play Fiji. They are a dangerous team. To get a win is fantastic, and now we focus on the next game with Portugal this weekend.”

Wales head coach Warren Gatland is set to name his starting line-up on Wednesday for the Portugal clash at Stade de Nice on Saturday.

And changes – possibly into double figures – could be made, especially considering the punishing nature of Fiji’s challenge and a six-day turnaround between games.

Wales assistant coach Jonathan Thomas said: “You will have seen for yourselves what a physical game it was and the amount of tackles we made. There are a number of sore bodies, but there are no injury concerns.

“The team gets named tomorrow but I think it is safe to say there will be changes. We’ve got complete and utter faith in our whole squad.

“I think what you will have seen from the Six Nations and then going into the three (World Cup) warm-up games, there have been opportunities for players.

“There were snapshots in those warm-up games where a number of players did particularly well.

“And that gives you the ability to make changes and freshen things up. It is a six-day turnaround, so it makes sense to make a few changes with the nature of the game we’ve just played.”

Players who could make their first starts of the tournament include full-back Leigh Halfpenny, wing Rio Dyer, centre Mason Grady, scrum-half Tomos Williams, lock Dafydd Jenkins and flanker Dan Lydiate.

Thomas added: “Are we satisfied with where we are at? There is always room for improvements for growth in our game. We are certainly not getting ahead of ourselves.

“Fiji are a team that hold possession particularly well, they are big powerful men with good ability, so they have the ability to maintain possession particularly well.

“We’ve got belief in our defensive structures. We are not afraid to play without the ball at times.”

Tom Curry will be available for England’s final World Cup group game after receiving a two-match ban for his dangerous tackle against Argentina on Saturday.

Curry was shown a red card that was upgraded from yellow upon review following a clash of heads with Pumas full-back Juan Cruz Mallia in the third minute at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome.

A virtual disciplinary panel gave Curry a three-game suspension that will be reduced to two if he completes World Rugby’s ‘Coaching Intervention Programme’, otherwise known as tackle school.

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It means the Sale openside will be available to face Samoa in Lille on October 7 in England’s final Pool D assignment.

Billy Vunipola has been beasted in training for the past month in anticipation of his return from suspension for England’s World Cup clash with Japan.

Vunipola was banned for the final warm-up match against Fiji and Saturday’s 27-10 victory over Argentina that opened Pool D after being sent off for a dangerous tackle against Ireland last month.

The powerful Saracens number eight is expected to be involved in Sunday’s next group assignment in Nice, especially with Tom Curry facing a suspension for his red card against the Pumas.

To help prepare one of their most potent carriers after a four-week absence from the field, Vunipola has received special attention from head of strength and conditioning Aled Walters.

“Unfortunately for Billy he was handed over to Aled Walters, which is not a pleasant experience for him,” attack coach Richard Wigglesworth said.

“There’s a group of lads who are given extra conditioning, lads who maybe didn’t get many minutes or didn’t play.

“Unfortunately for Billy that’s been him every time for the last few weeks. Aled has been working him hard and he looks good to go.”

Vunipola could slot straight in at number eight against Japan, with Ben Earl either moving to openside to cover for Curry or being rested altogether.

“Billy has got great physical presence and it’s great to have him back on the training field,” Wigglesworth said.

“But he’s a really smart player as well – he puts himself in great positions and he’s got great hands. He’s got more threat than just being a big ball carrier.

“He’s really smart and knows when to shift the ball and change the point of contact for other players as well. It’s great for us to have him available.”

England are in high spirits following their astonishing rout of Argentina in Marseille that was engineered despite Curry’s third-minute yellow card being upgraded to red on review.

While there is an acceptance they must sharpen up their attack – butchering a four-on-two overlap was the most glaring of several toothless moments against the Pumas – they have a solid platform to build from.

Assisting their forward preparations is line-out expert George Kruis, the former England second row who won 45 caps from 2014-20 and who has linked up with the squad at their Le Touquet base.

“George has lost a lot of weight. He’s had a bit of stick for his weight,” Wigglesworth said of his retired former Saracens team-mate.

“He actually compared his body to mine, which, considering he was 117kg when he played, was not the best compliment for him.

“George helps with the line-out. Him and Steve Borthwick chat for hours behind closed doors and I really don’t want to listen to those conversations. They have a proper line-out nause off.

“He helps the callers and with the line-out menu that they get. All that detail that I don’t need to know.

“It’s great to have him around because he has an affinity with so many of the lads. It’s been really nice having him for a few days.”

Ben White is adamant Scotland have learned plenty of lessons from their defeat by South Africa and as a result will become a better team for the remainder of the World Cup.

The scrum-half was “absolutely gutted” by the way the Scots started the tournament, losing 18-3 to the defending world champions in Marseille on Sunday.

It was the first time Gregor Townsend’s side had failed to score a try in a match since November 2020 – the 22-15 defeat at home to France – and was also their lowest-scoring outing since their first game of the 2019 World Cup when they lost 27-3 to Ireland.

Scotland must now win all three of their remaining Pool B matches against Tonga, Romania and Ireland if they are to have a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

White believes the intense test they were handed by South Africa will stand them in good stead for the rest of the campaign.

“It is a World Cup and we’re not out so we have to regroup,” said the 25-year-old. “Playing a team of that quality is only going to better us going forward in this tournament.

“There is going to be a lot of learning from it. I know Gregor is really big on us developing as a team and learning from these situations so we will improve and get better and we will come back better against Tonga.

“We’ve got to make sure now that we’re even more accurate, that we’re better in every moment and we will do that. We’ll learn and get better from it and we will give ourselves a chance of getting out of the group.”

Scotland went into their opener against South Africa with a genuine belief that they could beat them. And although they never got their renowned attacking game properly up and running on Sunday, they went in at half-time buoyed by an encouraging finish to a tightly-contested first half that ended 6-3 to the Boks.

South Africa took control in the second half, however, and the dejected Scots have been licking their wounds over the last few days, trying to reset and regroup ahead of their next game against Tonga in Nice on Sunday, September 24.

“It was gutting, absolutely gutting because you prep for 12 weeks and when you get your foot in the door as we did, you want to try and kick on from that,” said White, who will join Toulon after the World Cup.

“They’re a top side and if you give them a sniff, they’ll take their chances. They were the better team on the day.

“We missed quite a few chances and when we got good field positions we weren’t good enough at all. That’s on us to improve.

“Some of it was down to South Africa though. It’s a great challenge playing the world champions. They’re a top team and for 50 minutes we were in it and had weathered a fair few storms in the first half.

“I felt like if we could have just come out in the second half and built a bit of pressure through our possession game and looked to get the ball a little bit wider into Darcy (Graham) and Duhan (Van der Merwe)’s hands, we could have caused them some troubles but credit to them, they stopped us doing that. It felt like they were slowing us down and we have to learn from that.”

Freddie Steward has revealed that England’s heroic defensive stand against Argentina was inspired by a blast from Kevin Sinfield that was delivered in the wake of their Fiji debacle.

Steve Borthwick’s team opened their World Cup campaign with a 27-10 victory on Saturday despite playing 77 minutes with 14 men after Tom Curry was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle.

It was England’s finest hour since Borthwick took over and it arrived just in time as, until that act of defiance at the Stade Velodrome, concerns were being raised over a defence that had leaked 30 tries in nine Tests.

A conclusive defeat by Fiji at Twickenham a fortnight earlier saw the team reach their lowest ebb – and Steward admits the players deserved the reaction from Sinfield that followed.

“We got a bit of a rocket after that game. There were no complaints about that, it needed to happen,” the Leicester full-back said.

“We had a very thorough review, which we needed, and we reaped the benefits against Argentina. It was necessary for that to happen.

“That’s what makes Kev such a good defence coach – he’s so inspiring. He motivates us so much and he’s the sort of bloke you don’t want to let down.

“That’s testament to him as a bloke. When you go out there, part of it is you do it for him.

“You don’t want to see a guy like that, who puts his heart and soul into us in his work with his defence, feel let down.

“Kev is big on covering each other’s backs. That’s his big thing. He wants a defensive unit that are going to work incredibly hard for each other and, when it goes wrong, cover up for each other.

“Inevitably, you can be as good a defender as you want as a full-back but there are going to be times where it doesn’t go to plan and that is where you get tested. That’s his main ethos.”

Now that England have successfully negotiated their biggest match since the 2019 World Cup final, they have been challenged by Sinfield to ensure their defensive masterclass in Marseille is not a one-off.

“It is just a start. We saw lots of what we had seen in training against Argentina, which is pleasing, but I still feel there is so much in this team – so much improvement, so much growth,” Sinfield said.

“To get the win, given the noise that has been around us and the way the group have really circled the wagons – metaphorically that is – is really pleasing.

“We saw a fight, a spirit and attitude that the people at home supporting us and in the ground would have loved to have seen, and for us as coaches that is particularly pleasing, (but) we know we need to be better.

“Part of our challenge as coaches and part of the challenge of the playing group is to ensure this is not an anomaly, it is the start.”

Curry faces a disciplinary hearing in Paris on Tuesday night when he is expected to learn the length of his ban for the dangerous challenge that led to a clash of heads with Juan Cruz Mallia.

Dan Biggar has revealed that England’s stirring victory over Argentina helped underpin Wales’ mindset against Rugby World Cup rivals Fiji.

Wales dug deep in adversity, making more than 240 tackles as they held on for a thrilling 32-26 win that strengthened hopes of reaching a fourth successive World Cup quarter-final.

And England’s demolition job on the Pumas 24 hours earlier, which came despite them having flanker Tom Curry sent off during the early minutes, did not go unnoticed in the Wales camp.

“I thought England were absolutely magnificent after going down to 14 men,” Wales fly-half Biggar said.

“We spoke about having a little bit of a similar mindset – whether we lose a player or go down a bit, still working your absolute socks off.

“I think it was quite good for us watching that game, to be honest, as a team.

“It was almost like the red card was better for England than Argentina. I thought it galvanised them and they absolutely worked their socks off.

“They defended in twos and threes extremely well, scrambled well and forced a lot of errors.

“We knew we were going to concede turnovers and have moments when we were up against it.

“We said that we needed to have a similar sort of mindset (to England) to really grind it out and dig in in big moments.

“Results are the only thing that matter in this tournament. We are off to a good start, and if we win next weekend (against Portugal) it will be a really good start and we can build to the final two games then.”

It was an emotional time for Biggar in Bordeaux, with the Fiji game taking place on his late mother Liz’s birthday.

“I think she was looking down on us in the last passage of play with that dropped ball. You don’t see Semi (Radradra) dropping too many of those in open play,” he added.

“Not so much during the match, but I found the game quite difficult because she would have been here making a big weekend of it. It was at the back of my mind.”

Wales’ fourth World Cup win in a row against Fiji sets them up for a major tilt at winning Pool C, with Portugal, Australia and Georgia their remaining opponents.

Biggar, though, knows the importance of Wales not switching off when they arrive on the French Riviera and a week in Nice, where they face Portugal next Saturday.

“I just felt that we were nowhere near perfect, but you saw the character, the desire, the commitment of the group. We just never gave in,” Biggar said.

“We were pretty pleased to see that last ball dropped because we were certainly under the heat and it felt like everything was imploding in that last 12 minutes or so. We did well to get across the line in the end.

“We are going to enjoy it because there has been a lot of pressure on this group, a lot of things written, a lot of people said we weren’t good enough to win.

“I think it is important that this week, especially going to a very nice place in Nice, that it can turn into a bit of a holiday mode and that is the exact opposite of what we need.

“We probably need a fair bit of work on the training pitch this week.”

Louis Rees-Zammit admits undisciplined Wales survived a major scare and have significant room for improvement after edging an “absolutely brutal” Rugby World Cup classic against Fiji.

The 22-year-old tournament debutant claimed the third of his country’s four tries to help build an 18-point advantage with just 10 minutes to go on a breathless evening in Bordeaux.

But ferocious Fiji roared back and threatened to pull off a stunning Pool C comeback before falling agonisingly short as Semi Radradra’s costly late knock-on saw Wales scrape a thrilling 32-26 success.

Wing Rees-Zammit, who was limping following the full-time whistle, was the exposed man tasked with stopping the rampaging Radradra before gleefully booting the fumbled ball into touch.

“I was stressed,” he told the PA news agency. “They had a massive overlap and I was trying to call players round, but we were getting sucked in.

“When I saw the ball go over, I was like: ‘I’m going to have to try and go low on him here and hopefully get him out’.

“Unfortunately for him he knocked it on and we won the game.

“It was absolutely brutal. It lasted 82 minutes and we had to dig deep and in the majority of our game our discipline let us down, but I think ultimately to get a win is the most important thing.

“You could see it was a brutal game and I’m a bit sore, but a decent recovery now and hopefully I will be ready for next week.”

Wales conceded 17 penalties across the course of a gripping curtain-raiser against opposition who recently upset England at Twickenham.

Rees-Zammit, who was floored by a thunderous tackle from Vinaya Habosi minutes before his score, will look to shrug off his knock in time for next weekend’s match against Portugal in Nice ahead of meetings with Australia and Georgia.

“I don’t think we played at our best at all,” continued the Gloucester player.

“We’ve got a lot to improve and that’s the best thing because we can get a lot better.

“To beat Fiji at not a hundred per cent is great. We know they are a devastating team.”

The Prince of Wales was among a capacity crowd treated to undoubtedly the most entertaining match of the competition so far.

Josh Adams, George North and Elliot Dee were also on the scoresheet for Warren Gatland’s men, while fly-half Dan Biggar added two penalties and three conversions in an engrossing bonus-point victory.

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North, who was on the receiving end of an outburst from team-mate Biggar for not kicking the ball into touch just before the break, echoed the relief expressed by Rees-Zammit at the end of a “must-win” encounter.

“That was a proper Test match,” said the centre. “We’re chuffed to get the result, we needed that to start us off well in this World Cup.

“But we’ve got to look at ourselves very quickly. We know what the issues are: discipline and playing in the right areas.

“It was a must-win for us, we needed that to get us on the right path. It was huge for us and we’ve got to tidy up and turnaround to the next one.

“The way Fiji have developed, they were probably the favourites. They’ve got the physicality and flair that they’re known for but they’re also a well-drilled side.

“They’ve got the set piece now to fight and compete with the best of them and their form coming into the World Cup really showed.”

Speaking of Radradra’s late error, the 31-year-old Ospreys man added: “That’s Test-match rugby, you play on the edge of sword, it’s the one per cent (difference).

“You’ve got to take your opportunities and luckily enough they didn’t take that one.”